


Inhuman Practices

by Ruchira



Series: Episode Additions [2]
Category: Star Trek: Voyager
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-13
Updated: 2020-10-13
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:55:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,926
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26994016
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ruchira/pseuds/Ruchira
Summary: What if, instead of using Crell Moset's physical paraments for his holoprogram in "Almost Human" (5x08), they had used a generic character? Here's a story about the fallout that would happen on Voyager once the crew discovered that B'Elanna Torres' life had been saved using a database from a Cardassian war criminal.
Relationships: Tom Paris/B'Elanna Torres
Series: Episode Additions [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1969783
Comments: 2
Kudos: 9





	Inhuman Practices

Ensign Harry Kim was already sitting in the mess hall with his breakfast tray when his friends walked in. Lt. B'Elanna Torres looked tired, but she was smiling. From that distance, he couldn't hear what Lt. Tom Paris said to her, but it made it look over her shoulder and smile. He briefly put his hands on her shoulders and squeezed, and then dropped them.

Paris and Torres made their way to the counter to grab breakfast trays. "Oh, B'Elanna, the doctor put in a special order for you!" Neelix exclaimed as he made his way around the counter. "He said that you need to get your strength up! Have a seat, I'll get it for you!"

"Free replicated breakfast?" Tom asked as took his tray and walked toward Harry. "Next time, I get to be the one with the parasitic alien sucking my internal organs."

"Be my guest," B'Elanna replied dryly. "All I really want is coffee."

"I thought the doctor gave you a few days off?" Harry asked. B'Elanna rolled her eyes.

"I think we can all agree that a staff meeting is hardly taxing," she said as Neelix approached with a full breakfast tray.

"Eggs, ham, bacon, potatoes, and fresh fruit!" he said, handing over the tray. "High in protein and carbohydrates. He insisted that you eat everything."

"Great," B'Elanna muttered, slightly overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of food. "Can I get a cup of coffee to go with…this?"

Neelix shook his head sadly. "Doctor's orders," he said. "He said no caffeine."

"Still want to be the patient next time?" B'Elanna asked Tom. She reached for his mug and took a drink of his coffee before he could protest.

"Nice to see you following the Doctor's orders," Tom replied as he took his mug back.

"Did he let you out last night?" Harry asked. B'Elanna nodded.

"He wanted to keep me another night for observation, but I put a stop to that," she replied. "I threatened to decompile his program if he didn't let me go. Besides, it's not like his assistant would leave me alone."

"I wouldn't want you to have had a medical emergency in the middle of the night," Tom shot back with a grin.

"And they say you don't take your duties seriously." She had been ready to ask him to stay with her, but he had insisted on it before she had had the chance. It had been nice to have him there; he was warm and soft—although she'd never use that adjective out loud to describe him—which was a welcome change from the cold and hard alien that she had been dealing with.

"So, Harry," Tom said after stealing a forkful of B'Elanna's eggs. "I didn't get the chance to ask earlier. Where did the Doctor find that exobiology program?"

Harry choked on his breakfast at the question; both Tom and B'Elanna looked at him questionably as he took a sip of coffee. "Sorry," he said. "I just used the default holocharacter matrix."

"Thanks, Harry, I figured that out already," Tom said dryly. "I meant the database the medical knowledge came from."

"Ah," Harry said. "It came from the Chairman of Exobiology at the University of Culat."

B'Elanna narrowed her eyes as she studied him. "That's a Cardassian city," she said slowly.

"Uh, yes," Harry replied. He had hoped she wouldn't know that, but B'Elanna never failed to surprise him. "It was a Cardassian program."

She pushed her tray away in disgust, what little appetite she had now completely gone. "I think the Doctor was right," she said, rising from the table. "I think I need a few more days before going back to work." She heard both Tom and Neelix calling after her as she left the mess hall, but didn't turn back.

* * *

Commander Chakotay removed the two mugs of herbal tea from the replicator and handed one over. B'Elanna glowered, but accepted it. She probably wished it was coffee, but she looked like caffeine was the last thing she needed. "What did you want to talk to me about?" he asked, gesturing toward the sitting area.

She sat at the edge of the chair, leaning forward, her body tight with tension. No; with anger. She had always had a hard time keeping her temper in check when she was tired, and she was obviously tired after her ordeal in Sickbay. "Did the Doctor tell you where he got that 'consultant' from?" she demanded.

"Only that he came from an exobiology database."

"A _Cardassian_ exobiology database," she spat. "Not just any database. Dr. Crell Moset." Chakotay frowned. "He _experimented_ on _people_. During the occupation of Bajor. Tabor grew up in the province where he…worked, and he said that Moset killed his brother and grandfather in his experiments."

"I heard stories about an infamous Cardassian doctor from some of the Bajoran Maquis."

"They aren't just _stories_ , Chakotay!" she exclaimed. "Tabor was _there_. Talk to him! He poisoned people, blinded them, burned them, just to study how they responded. He killed Tabor's grandfather by exposing him to nadion radiation. It took him six days to die. It's all right here," she said, thrusting a PADD into his hands.

Chakotay frowned as he studied the data in front of him. "This says he developed a vaccine against fostossa virus," he said.

"By _infecting_ people!" B'Elanna exclaimed. "He asked for viral samples to 'study' it. Four days later, there was a major outbreak in the vicinity of the hospital. There hadn't been a single case in that province before then!"

Chakotay sighed as he scrolled through the PADD. "What do you want me to do?" he finally asked. "We can't unheal you."

"How do we even _have_ this database on our ship?" she asked. "He never should have been allowed to touch me in the first place!"

"We can't unring that bell," he said. She glowered briefly.

"The Doctor still has the database saved," she said a minute later. "He calls it 'Medical Consultant Program Beta One.' It needs to be deleted."

"I'll talk to the Doctor," he promised.

" _Today_ , Chakotay."

"I wasn't aware I took orders from you, Lieutenant."

"Don't mess with me, Chakotay," she said warningly as she stood stiffly. "Not today." She turned and strode out of his office without another word.

* * *

B'Elanna Torres was reading through the day's engineering report when the announcer on her door chimed. "Come in," she murmured, her eyes still on the PADD.

Tom walked in just far enough to allow the doors to close behind him, his usual move when he wasn't sure of the situation he was walking into. He raised his eyebrows at the incense she had burning and quirked his lips slightly, just barely resisting the impulse to make a joke. Usually when she had her demon-dispelling incense going, it was in response to something he had done. "Word about the exobiology database has spread throughout the ship," he said instead. "Half of the former Maquis crew have stopped by Chakotay's office to ask him to start a mutiny."

"Only half?" she asked.

"Well," he replied, walking in and taking a seat on the couch. "Some are on gamma shift and are just waking up. They haven't heard the stories yet. Give them time. Probably half a dozen of the Starfleet crew are on the mutiny side, too. I think by this time tomorrow, we'll have a quorum."

She rolled her eyes and returned her attention to the PADD. "I don't want a mutiny, Tom," she finally said.

"I know."

She put the PADD down and faced him. "Why are you here, Tom?" she asked, sighing.

"I just wanted to check up on you," he said. She rolled her eyes.

"I'm fine."

"I know," he said. "I just wanted to see for myself. You gave me a scare in sickbay."

"I know," she said. She saw it in his eyes, those times she was awake. That frantic fear, that fatigue, that unwillingness to leave even when she knew he needed to sleep.

"I still would have done it," he said, his words coming out in a rush. "Even if I knew that the consultant was based on Crell Moset, even if he had been programmed to look like Moset, even if it had _been_ Moset, I would have insisted that he help the Doctor. I would have pleaded to the captain if I had to. Anything to keep you alive."

"I didn't want that, Tom."

"I know," he said. "And I wish I could say that I would have honored your wishes, but I can't. I can't stand by and watch you die. You're too important to me. If anything happened to you, I would do anything—legal, illegal, immoral, impossible—to fix it. I would rather you live and hate me forever."

She knew that was true. He had proved it time and time again—with the Vidiians, Vorik, the Mari. His methods were often crude and blunt, but she would never doubt his sincerity. "I could never hate you, Tom," she said softly. "I would be _furious_ with you, but I would forgive you. Eventually."

"How furious with me?" he asked with a roguish grin. She narrowed her eyes.

"Don't push your luck, Paris."

* * *

Captain Kathryn Janeway put down her PADD to rub her temple and took a drink of her coffee. Of all the things she didn't need, a bioethics debate was high on her list. "Let me get this straight," she said, looking over at Commander Chakotay. "We had a database containing the research of a Cardassian exobiologist, which the Doctor used to create a consultant to get that alien off B'Elanna. And that Cardassian exobiologist—"

"Is a war criminal," Chakotay finished for her. "Yes."

"How did this get this far?" she asked. "How did we not know—"

"The Cardassians were very good at covering up their crimes," he said. "If it weren't for B'Elanna's research and Tabor and Seven's help, we might never know."

She rubbed her forehead again. "How did this not come up earlier? You know what," she said a second later. "I don't want to know. Call a senior staff meeting. We're going to discuss this."

"Are you sure that's the best forum for that?" he asked. "The Doctor and Harry programmed the consultant. The Doctor has bonded with him. B'Elanna is understandably upset about what she's learned. Tom—"

"Everyone is emotional about this," she interrupted. "According to the rumor mill, half of the crew wants you to mutiny against the Starfleet policies that allowed this to happen in the first place. We need to have a unified message as a senior staff about how we're going to move forward."

He knew better that to argue with his captain when she had made up her mind, and rose from his chair. "I'll call a meeting."

They gathered in the conference room fifteen minutes later. B'Elanna was still in her off-duty civilian clothes; Captain Janeway chose to tell herself it was because her chief engineer was still on convalescent leave, not that she was out of uniform as a protest against Starfleet. The Doctor already looked defensive, and the captain knew this wasn't going to be an easy meeting. "Let's start from the beginning," she said. "Doctor, I gave you permission to create a consultant program, and Mr. Kim assisted you with the holographic parameters."

"Yes, Captain," her EMH replied. "I had found the files of Crell Moset and felt he would be the best template for our consultant program."

"Was Mengele not available?" Torres asked dryly. Janeway gave her a warning look.

"I was the one who suggested that we not use his physical parameters," Harry chimed in. He looked over at B'Elanna apologetically. "I knew a Cardassian would upset B'Elanna, and I figured—"

"I agreed with Mr. Kim's assessment," the Doctor interrupted. "It was prudent to keep my patient as calm as possible and avoid unnecessary stressors—"

"So you _lied_ to me?" Torres demanded.

"Lieutenant," Janeway said warningly.

"No, Captain," B'Elanna said. "I had a _right_ to know who was treating me, and the Doctor kept that from me. I never would have consented to being treated by that…man!"

"You didn't even know who he was until _after_ you were treated!" the Doctor protested. "Or are you saying that you wouldn't have consented to being treated by _anyone_ who looks like a Cardassian?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying!"

"I'm surprised at your attitude, Lieutenant," he said, sounding disappointed. "I never would have taken you for someone who would make generalizations based on race."

"When it comes to Cardassians, I'm guilty as charged!" she shot back. "They're all cold-blooded killers, as far as I'm concerned. And when it comes to this one, it looks like I was right!"

Janeway held up a hand. "What's done is done," she said. "Barring some temporal phenomenon, we can't go back and un-do what we've already done. We can't change how Lt. Torres was treated. What we _can_ do, is make sure that nothing like this happens again."

They all looked at each other for a minute, and it was Paris who finally spoke up. "With all due respect, Captain, how?"

"Mr. Paris?"

"It's one thing to sit around here and Monday morning quarterback this and all pledge to do better, but what's going to happen the next time something like this happens? In the heat of the moment, are we really going to tie our hands and say we aren't going to use something that can be used to save someone's life?"

"Using knowledge gained through unjust means validates these methods, inviting further unethical research," Tuvok pointed out.

"We'd be setting a terrible precedent," Chakotay chimed in.

"We're in the Delta quadrant," Paris shot back. "Who would know?"

" _We_ would know," Tuvok replied.

"You're right," Paris said sarcastically. "Who cares if a few people die along the way? At least we'll have our morals intact."

"Gentlemen," Janeway said warningly, but Paris wasn't done.

"Is there some sort of ethical equation that we can use?" he asked, his sarcasm in full force. "Knowledge gained from a hundred deaths is okay, but 101 is too many? What about if it's a difference between permanent disability and death? Is some unethical research okay in one circumstance but not the other? Or maybe it's a position thing? Is our chief engineer worth more than a crewman?"

"How dare you!" the Doctor fumed. "I would never—"

"Gentlemen!" the captain exclaimed, and fortunately, they both shut up. "I understand emotions are running a little bit high right now," she said once everyone had had the opportunity to take a breath. "But this is not helping anybody. Doctor. Given what we know about this Crell Moset, don't you agree that deleting this consultant program would be the best course of action?"

He looked like he wanted to argue, but reconsidered at the look on her face, and the faces of most of the senior staff. "Of course, Captain," he finally said. "I'll do that right away."

"And in the future," she continued. "We'll address the need for external consultants on a case-by-case basis." Half of the officers around the table looked like they wanted to say something, one way or another, but all seemed to reconsider. "If there's nothing further," she said. "Dismissed."

* * *

B'Elanna Torres was still angry. She didn't know who exactly she was angry at, but she was angry, and as much as she hated to admit it, there was really only one person she could talk to when she was this angry who wouldn't make her angrier. Both Tom and Chakotay would get her even more fired up, for different reasons. Harry would be so apologetic about his suggestion to alter the Moset program's appearance that she would just get frustrated with him. Captain Janeway would probably lecture her. Neelix would be too upbeat. And the Doctor… Well, she just wasn't ready to deal with the Doctor yet.

"Enter," Lt. Commander Tuvok said from inside his quarters. A single eyebrow rose when he noticed who was standing there.

"Everyone is up in arms," she said as an explanation, "and I feel at least partially responsible." The eyebrow rose again.

"There are four basic principles to bioethics," he began. "Patient autonomy, justice, beneficence, and non-malfeasance. You are experiencing an emotional reaction to a perceived threat to your autonomy."

"'Perceived'?" she echoed. "The Doctor created a program to treat me and hid its origins, knowing I wouldn't consent to treatment if I knew where it came from! How is that not a _threat_ to my autonomy?"

"Indeed," he replied. "You are not in the wrong to feel slighted for this error in judgement. Perhaps it would help to think of this issue as one small facet in a larger ethical question."

"By all means," she said.

"After careful review of the facts, I concur with your conclusions regarding Dr. Crell Moset," Tuvok said. "The available evidence suggests that his experiments were, at their core, unethical, violating the principle of non-malfeasance. I do believe that the Doctor and Mr. Kim were ignorant of these facts when they used his database to create a consultant to help him remove the alien from your body. Their intent was to do good, thus meeting the principle of beneficence."

"And what about justice?" she asked. "Where is the justice here? Thousands of people died, for what? So _I_ may be saved?"

He raised an eyebrow. "In this case, 'justice' refers to the equity of the treatment. The belief that people should not be treated differently based on factors external to the illness process."

She snorted. "Well, that wasn't met," she replied. "Harry so much as said that they changed the external appearance of the hologram to _not upset me._ Do you think he would have done the same for someone else?"

"Given that a significant number of this crew came to us from the Maquis, it is logical to assume that Mr. Kim and the Doctor would have made a similar decision had it been any crew member in order to avoid crew unrest."

She rolled her eyes, but did have to admit that he had a point. After all, the crew _had_ found out where Moset's program came from and acted exactly as expected.

"That doesn't change the fact that _I_ benefited from him murdering thousands of people!"

"You were not the only benefactor of Dr. Moset's unethical experiments," Tuvok pointed out. "While his methods were extreme, he did develop a vaccine against fostossa virus, which saved thousands of lives."

"Thousands killed, thousands saved?" B'Elanna asked. "So, what? Does that mean that the _beneficence_ outweighs the _malfeasance_?"

"Some may argue that it does," Tuvok replied. She snorted derisively. "There are rarely any easy answers in ethical discussions," he continued. "Both opposing positions can, and have, been supported by solid logical arguments. One could also argue that it would only be just for Dr. Moset's victims for their lives to have gone toward a greater good. That if the knowledge gained from his experiments is used to save lives, that they did not die in vain."

"I can't believe that," she said softly. "I can't believe that my life is more important than Tabor's brother, or his grandfather, or anybody else that Moset killed."

"It is not a matter of importance," he replied. "To paraphrase Captain Janeway's comments, those actions are in the past. We cannot change what Dr. Moset did and cannot return his victims to their lives or full health. The question is whether using the knowledge he gained validates his methods, or failure to use it invalidates the lives that were lost."

She frowned, then shook her head slowly. "I'm sorry, Tuvok," she finally said. "I just can't believe that there's any good to come from using his database."

"And that is your ethical decision to make," he replied. "As well as the source of your anger, that you were deprived of your ability to make that decision for yourself."

"How do I go forward from here? How do I live with this… guilt?"

"To feel guilt is illogical," he pointed out. "As you have so succinctly stated, you were deprived of the ability to make your own decision regarding the use of Dr. Moset's database in your care. As you were not the one to make the decision, you have nothing to feel guilty about."

She snorted. "That doesn't help. I still benefitted from it, even if it was against my will."

"I believe that is a discussion that is beyond the issue of bioethics." She nodded slowly; that was something she needed to figure out for herself, and it would probably take some time.

"Thank you, Tuvok," she replied, rising from her seat.

"You are welcome, Lieutenant."

* * *

Tom Paris again found himself surrounded by that Klingon incense when he entered B'Elanna Torres' quarters. "Still expelling demons?" he asked.

She barely bit back the automatic reply of, _well, you're still here_ , and just nodded. "Maybe this one will do the trick," she said instead. He gave a quick grin and collapsed onto the couch.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Better. I think," she replied. "I'm going to go in tomorrow. See what kind of mess Seven has made of Engineering."

"I'm sure everything is fine," he assured her. The look she gave him told him that she didn't believe him and had no interest in discussing all the things that could have gone wrong.

"You're off in a few days, right?" she asked.

"I'm just polishing up the next chapter in Captain Proton," he replied proudly. "Captain Proton and Buster Kincaid are facing their most challenging enemies yet: The Twin Mistresses of Evil."

She smiled despite herself. "The Delaneys?"

"Harry told Megan about Captain Proton and Jenny wanted to join in," he explained. "I can blow Harry and the Delaneys off, if you wanted to do something instead," he offered.

"No, that's okay," she replied. "I have a lot of work to do in Engineering. But you kids have fun."

"I can always write a character for you," he offered, not for the first time. She didn't say anything, but gave him a look that told him just what she thought about that idea. "Have you had dinner yet?"

She shook her head. "I don't want to deal with the mess hall," she admitted. "Not just yet."

"I have rations," he replied, rising and crossing to the replicator. "What'll it be?"

"Since when did you have rations?" she asked in disbelief, then narrowed her eyes. "Have you been playing Harry at pool again?" He only grinned in reply.

He caught her up on the events of the ship that she missed while she was Sickbay as they ate, and then she returned to her Engineering reports and he worked on his Captain Proton program. "I was worried you were still mad at me," he said out of the blue.

"I was never mad at you," she replied. "Thank you, for taking care of me in Sickbay."

"Always," he promised.

"Will you stay tonight?" she asked.

"You don't even have to ask," he replied. She smiled slightly and leaned back in her chair.

"How long do you think this…debate, in the crew is going to ask?" she asked.

"I wouldn't worry about it," he said dismissively. "There will be some other big, ethical debate for the crew to get worked up about soon enough."


End file.
